A Chicago lawyers group Wednesday urged Gov. Jim Edgar and legislative leaders to provide full funding for the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board, the state agency that investigates allegations of judicial misconduct. The reform-minded Chicago Council of Lawyers said it was concerned about reports that the agency faces a severe budget cutback.

An Illinois federal judge has apologized for allowing TV cameras in his courtroom last month, after the chief judge of the federal courts in three Midwestern states opened an inquiry into possible judicial misconduct. Federal court rules have long banned audio and video broadcasts in U.S. district courts. Yet on Sept. 15, U.S. District Judge Joe Billy McDade of Peoria allowed newspaper and television reporters to bring at least four video cameras, two audio recorders...

The state's lawyer disciplinary agency has filed formal charges against two former Cook County judges and a former Cook County assistant state's attorney, Thomas Gerard Cosgrove, alleging that they fixed a traffic ticket. The judges, Harry Buoscio and Paul Sheridan, previously had been charged by the state's Judicial Inquiry Board with judicial misconduct over the same allegations, but they resigned from the bench in 1998 rather than stand trial on those charges. The most recent complaint...

WASHINGTON, D.C. EPA chief: Agency aiming to curb greenhouse gases from coal New power plants could be required to reduce carbon dioxide emissions EPA administrator Lisa Jackson says the agency is moving toward regulating the gases from coal blamed for global warming. Jackson told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the agency will decide whether greenhouse gases are a danger to human health and welfare, the legal trigger for regulation under federal law. On Tuesday, the...

Associate Judge John G. Laurie of Cook County Circuit Court was suspended for a month without pay Wednesday for failing to report two bribe attempts by lawyers seeking to influence him in cases. Laurie, 40, also violated Illinois Supreme Court rules by discussing the merits of pending cases with attorneys from only one side, according to the Illinois Courts Commission, which imposed the suspension on the recommendation of the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board. Laurie, who was acquitted of...

The state's lawyer disciplinary agency has filed formal charges against two former Cook County judges and a former Cook County assistant state's attorney, Thomas Gerard Cosgrove, alleging that they fixed a traffic ticket. The judges, Harry Buoscio and Paul Sheridan, previously had been charged by the state's Judicial Inquiry Board with judicial misconduct over the same allegations, but they resigned from the bench in 1998 rather than stand trial on those charges. The most recent complaint...

The Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board said Friday it has decided not to bring disciplinary charges against a Kankakee County judge who is on the Illinois Courts Commission, the panel that ultimately decides whether judges should be punished for judicial misconduct. Judge Fred Carr Jr.'s conduct during a child custody hearing in June had come under scrutiny by the inquiry board, which is the state agency that investigates allegations of judicial wrongdoing. Such investigations normally...

John Kelsey Chadwick was a rare mix for an FBI agent, his colleagues say--a classic tough guy with a shrewd knowledge of the criminal mind, but also a man of quiet honor, who gained the respect of those he dealt with, including many of the mobsters he hunted down. Capping off his 18-year career at the FBI, Mr. Chadwick served from 1981 to 1986 as the Chicago office's No. 2 man, the special agent in charge of all criminal operations, presiding over the agency's most famous investigations,...

Two Cook County Circuit Court judges charged with fixing a traffic case have resigned rather than stand trial for judicial misconduct. Associate Judges Harry Buoscio, 60, and Paul Sheridan, 62, tendered separate letters of resignation Monday, said Jeffrey Stone, counsel for the Judicial Inquiry Board, on Tuesday. The board brought charges of misconduct against the two last year, and a hearing on the case before the Illinois Courts Commission was scheduled for Oct. 28. "The Judicial...

The Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board said Friday it has decided not to bring disciplinary charges against a Kankakee County judge who is on the Illinois Courts Commission, the panel that ultimately decides whether judges should be punished for judicial misconduct. Judge Fred Carr Jr.'s conduct during a child custody hearing in June had come under scrutiny by the inquiry board, which is the state agency that investigates allegations of judicial wrongdoing. Such investigations normally...

Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas J. Moran, claiming to be "speaking for the entire Illinois Supreme Court," has deplored recent criticisms of the court's role "in connection with the horrible blight of Greylord" (Tribune, March 29). He wrote that it was "time to set the record straight." Indeed it is, but I beg to differ with his portrayal of the record. The court has become a supra-constitutional body that has made itself unaccountable to the people of Illinois.

Two Cook County Circuit Court judges charged with fixing a traffic case have resigned rather than stand trial for judicial misconduct. Associate Judges Harry Buoscio, 60, and Paul Sheridan, 62, tendered separate letters of resignation Monday, said Jeffrey Stone, counsel for the Judicial Inquiry Board, on Tuesday. The board brought charges of misconduct against the two last year, and a hearing on the case before the Illinois Courts Commission was scheduled for Oct. 28. "The Judicial...

For seven minutes Thursday, things in U.S. District Judge George Marovich's courtroom appeared to be all turned around. There, in the jury box, sat 12 defendants, all dressed in the bright-orange uniform of the Metropolitan Correctional Center. A few feet away, Marovich's colleague, U.S. District Judge George Lindberg, was testifying under oath in the witness chair. Despite appearances, the defendants--Gangster Disciple leaders and associates--were sitting in the jury box for...

For seven minutes Thursday, things in U.S. District Judge George Marovich's courtroom appeared to be all turned around. There, in the jury box, sat 12 defendants, all dressed in the bright-orange uniform of the Metropolitan Correctional Center. A few feet away, Marovich's colleague, U.S. District Judge George Lindberg, was testifying under oath in the witness chair. Despite appearances, the defendants--Gangster Disciple leaders and associates--were sitting in the jury box for...

By Maurice Possley and Robert Becker, Tribune Staff Writers | September 7, 1997

A veteran judge assigned to Night Narcotics Court in the Criminal Courts Building is under investigation for alleged sexual harassment of lawyers in his courtroom, according to officials and others familiar with the case. The jurist, Oliver Spurlock, 52, was transferred last month to non-courtroom duties after the allegations were made, according to Thomas Fitzgerald, chief judge of the Criminal Courts, at 26th Street and California Avenue. "There were...

By Maurice Possley and Robert Becker, Tribune Staff Writers | September 7, 1997

A veteran judge assigned to Night Narcotics Court in the Criminal Courts Building is under investigation for alleged sexual harassment of lawyers in his courtroom, according to officials and others familiar with the case. The jurist, Oliver Spurlock, 52, was transferred last month to non-courtroom duties after the allegations were made, according to Thomas Fitzgerald, chief judge of the Criminal Courts, at 26th Street and California Avenue. "There were...

An Illinois federal judge has apologized for allowing TV cameras in his courtroom last month, after the chief judge of the federal courts in three Midwestern states opened an inquiry into possible judicial misconduct. Federal court rules have long banned audio and video broadcasts in U.S. district courts. Yet on Sept. 15, U.S. District Judge Joe Billy McDade of Peoria allowed newspaper and television reporters to bring at least four video cameras, two audio recorders...

As a special committee of the General Assembly decides on Monday whether to recommend the impeachment of Illinois Supreme Court Justice James D. Heiple, the committee's members find themselves dealing with something outside the usual scope of judicial misconduct. The misconduct has already been established; the Illinois Courts Commission has censured Heiple for bringing the judiciary into disrepute. But there is another issue about Heiple, one that is especially troubling in...

John Kelsey Chadwick was a rare mix for an FBI agent, his colleagues say--a classic tough guy with a shrewd knowledge of the criminal mind, but also a man of quiet honor, who gained the respect of those he dealt with, including many of the mobsters he hunted down. Capping off his 18-year career at the FBI, Mr. Chadwick served from 1981 to 1986 as the Chicago office's No. 2 man, the special agent in charge of all criminal operations, presiding over the agency's most famous investigations,...

A Chicago lawyers group Wednesday urged Gov. Jim Edgar and legislative leaders to provide full funding for the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board, the state agency that investigates allegations of judicial misconduct. The reform-minded Chicago Council of Lawyers said it was concerned about reports that the agency faces a severe budget cutback.